Mike Tyson handed Trump letter from Diddy begging for pardon: report

Disgraced rapper and producer Sean Combs (also known as Diddy) recently solicited the help of retired professional boxer Mike Tyson in asking President Donald Trump for a pardon.

That's according to a Tuesday article in the UK-based Sun tabloid, which reported that Tyson received the letter from someone in Diddy's inner circle, who then passed it along to the president during a December visit to the White House. One of the Sun's unnamed sources told the outlet that Tyson specifically asked what the letter was referring to, and was told it was a plea for a presidential pardon.

"Mike had a meeting with one of Diddy’s closest confidantes and he handed him a letter from Diddy," the source said. "... Mike admitted he was feeling nervous about it, but agreed to take it to the White House when he visited."

Trump has previously said he received a letter from Diddy asking for a pardon, though it had not been reported how he received the letter. Tyson has been friendly in the past with the rapper and producer, even after he was found guilty by a New York City jury in a 2024 trial.

"I wish him the best. In life, I wish him the best," Tyson said of Diddy.

Combs is currently serving a 50-month sentence for prostitution-related charges, though his attorneys have appealed the verdict and argued that the judge overseeing the case handed down an unfair sentence. Trump has so far remained quiet about a pardon for the music mogul, and said clemency was unlikely given that Diddy had criticized him in the past.

Trump's form of granting pardons has created a cottage industry in which lawyers offer their services to clients seeking clemency. The Wall Street Journal reported last May that those seeking pardons have learned to "make a pitch" to have someone capable of getting a brief meeting with the president to persuade him by convincing him they were victims of an unfair or politically motivated prosecution.

Click here to read the Sun's full report.